As Brigitte mentioned in class, there has been talk of the exorcism that recently took place in New Zealand. This story interested me as when we think of rituals as extreme as this, we generally think of something from a movie!
The exorcism took place to “flush out” a demon from Janet Moses. The curse was believed to have been linked to a relative stealing a statue from a hotel. However, the ceremony/ritual went wrong, resulting in Janet drowning.
It is rare that we see instances like this happening in Western society. I don’t think as many people would have thought much of the event, if it had taken place in the middle of Africa or somewhere far away; we read about many rituals like this for anth. However, as it happened right here in New Zealand it shows that these rituals take place near and around us, not just in a rural area in far away country!
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10475430
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/2452975/Claim-curse-ceremony-saved-girl
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